Sermon Tone Analysis

Overall tone of the sermon

This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
A score of 0.5 or higher indicates the tone is likely present.
Emotion Tone
Anger
0.51LIKELY
Disgust
0.15UNLIKELY
Fear
0.17UNLIKELY
Joy
0.11UNLIKELY
Sadness
0.59LIKELY
Language Tone
Analytical
0.68LIKELY
Confident
0UNLIKELY
Tentative
0.52LIKELY
Social Tone
Openness
0.89LIKELY
Conscientiousness
0.78LIKELY
Extraversion
0.07UNLIKELY
Agreeableness
0.57LIKELY
Emotional Range
0.6LIKELY

Tone of specific sentences

Tones
Emotion
Anger
Disgust
Fear
Joy
Sadness
Language
Analytical
Confident
Tentative
Social Tendencies
Openness
Conscientiousness
Extraversion
Agreeableness
Emotional Range
Anger
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9
! Introduction
            Last week we celebrated Mother’s Day and a few birthdays at our daughter’s place in Winnipeg.
They have a ping pong table and our 3 year old grandson asked me to play “pong pong” with him.
He would stand at one end of the table with his paddle and his head just sticking up above the end of the table (remember he is three).
I hit the ball at him and he tried to hit it back or he tried to hit the ball to me.
Of course balls were flying everywhere, but we were having a good time.
At one time, I threw the ball at him and he just stood there and didn’t move and I hit him right above the eye.
He started crying and I felt awful.
For a little while he didn’t want anything to do with me, but it wasn’t very long before we were playing “pong pong” again.
As adults we are not always as good at being reconciled.
In a church that is 135 years old, as this one is this year, there is a long history and in that history there are, not surprisingly, incidents in which people have hurt one another.
In the 9 years that I have been here, I have heard some of the stories of hurts.
I have heard suspicions expressed and jealousy hinted at.
I have sensed anger just under the surface and heard about injustices which were not resolved.
I have heard about conflicts that seem to have been resolved, but quickly are mentioned again when new stresses appear.
I have also become aware of significant theological differences among people in our midst.
The stuff that I have heard is told to me confidentially and it will stay confidential, but it seems that there are just so many of these mentioned that we need to talk about how we handle the differences which exist among us.
Over the next two weeks, I would like to talk about differences and about conflict.
Scripture has much to say about these things and I will reflect on some of those texts.
In February the ministerial had a seminar on conflict resolution and we learned some very helpful things.
This week, I would like to think about how the church can even continue to function with all of these conflicts in the background.
I would also like to talk about some of the things the Bible has to say about our attitudes to one another when we have differences.
Next week, I would like to talk about conflict and share with you a model of handling conflict which will hopefully help us get along even better than we do.
! I.                   God Given Unity
One thing I have sometimes thought of is that when you think of all the potential for conflict, one might wonder how our church can even function.
Does it not require unity to keep on working together?
If you put a lion and a lamb in the same cage, you will soon have unity.
The lamb will become one with the lion, but will cease to exist.
Unity cannot be created by power.
I have a bird feeder and one day last winter there were three different birds all sitting on the feeder at the same time.
It was kind of nice to see the sparrow, nuthatch and chickadee all sharing the space.
There was a kind of unity in that.
The unity was created by the food and when the food was gone, those three birds had nothing to do with each other.
A common advantage creates unity for a while, but not in the long term.
It is truly amazing in spite of all the differences we have among us and all the conflicts which have existed over the years, that we are still able to work together, to worship together and to get along.
This unity does not exist because of common advantage or because of being forced to be one.
It exists because the Spirit of God creates unity in the church.
!! A.                 Unity Comes from the Spirit
In Ephesians 4:3 we are told, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
In a moment I want to talk about what it means to “make every effort to keep the unity,” but before we do that we need to recognize that it is the “unity of the Spirit.”
I have to admit that this is something that I can’t explain.
It is something which I believe because the Bible says so and it is something I believe because I have seen it happen.
I am not naïve enough to think that every church in every situation will end up well and reconciled.
I know that churches split.
I know that Christians are sometimes unable to get along.
But in spite of those realities, there is an amazing thing that happens in a church that cannot be explained by natural, human means.
The fact that people from every socio-economic, educational, cultural background can love and care for each other and work together and serve together cannot be explained by anything other than that it is a work of God by His Spirit.
There is a great mystery in the kingdom of God which is that the Holy Spirit creates unity.
!! B.                 We Are United by a Central Reality
One of the illustrations I have sometimes heard used in regards to unity is the picture of a wheel which has spokes, like a bicycle wheel.
What one observes is that the closer one comes to the center, the closer the spokes are to each other.
This helps us understand another reality about unity in the body of Christ and that is that the thing which ties us together is stronger than the differences which might separate us.
That center is described in Ephesians 4:4-6 where we read, “There is one body and one Spirit— just as you were called to one hope when you were called— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
There is a central reality and that is that we belong to the same Father.
Our “one God and Father of all” cares for each of us and leads us.
We can always go to Him as a reference in any concern we have.
Since we are going to the same source, it is possible for us to develop the same perspective, to grow in having the same understanding and so to live in unity.
Since there is “one Spirit” we have the same central power directing our lives and so are able to live in unity.
Of course we know that we don’t always get it right away, but if we are indwelt by the same Spirit, we will eventually all be drawn to the same central understanding.
Perhaps one way of looking at it is to think of a magnet.
If you pass a magnet over iron filings, they will always be attracted to the magnet.
Sometimes they are too far away from the magnet to be attracted right away and sometimes the force of friction or some other force will be stronger than the force of the magnet, but there is a central attraction in a magnet that will eventually draw the iron filing to it.
So it is with the indwelling Spirit.
His presence in us will always draw us to the same center and that is what makes unity possible.
!! C.                 God Gives it as We Follow Christ
Of course this unifying power assumes that we are indeed centered on Christ.
In Romans 15:5 we read, “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus.”
Here we see once again that unity is a gift of God.
Paul prays for this gift of God for the church in Rome, but we see that it is conditional.
If we choose to be centered on the one who is our center, then God will give that unity.
If we put our attention on Jesus Christ and seek to follow Him, then He will lead us to Himself and will lead us to unity.
There is a story of conflict and unity in the Bible, which helps us see how God draws His children towards unity.
In their first missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas had taken Mark with them.
When they were planning to go back and encourage the churches which had been established on the first journey, Barnabas wanted to take Mark along, but Paul didn’t agree because Mark had abandoned them on the first journey.
We read in Acts 15:39, 40, “They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company.
Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.”
If that was the end of the story, we would have to say that this ended badly and there was a “sharp disagreement” which caused a parting of the ways.
But, God leads His people towards unity and in later times we see that Paul had a completely different view of Mark.
In Colossians 4:10 he says, “My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas.
(You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.)”
Then in II Timothy 4:11 we read, “Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.”
This is the mystery of God creating unity.
!
II.
The Demonstration of God’s Power
There is another aspect of the way in which God brings unity in the church which encourages me and may help us wrap our head around this mystery.
In II Corinthians 4:7 we read, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”
!! A.                 We Have This Treasure
In October 2007 a 6.04 carat diamond was sold for $7.98 million US.
It is hard to imagine something which is relatively small being worth that much.
We could hold it in our hands easily.
In fact it is probably the only way we could hold something worth that much money in one hand.
Yet, the gospel message which God has given us to proclaim to the world, the wonderful word that Jesus died on the cross and is able to forgive our sins and give us eternal life is much more precious than this diamond.
This is the greatest treasure in our world and each of us who knows Christ holds that treasure, not in our hands, but in our hearts.
!! B.                 In Jars of Clay
When precious diamonds are displayed, those trying to sell it will make a great effort to display it in such a way that it’s beauty is really shown.
They clean it so that it shines and put it on a dark velvet cloth so it can be well seen.
They shine lots of light on it so that it sparkles brightly.
God has done something totally opposite.
He displays the gospel in “jars of clay.”
When I was in seminary, the professor told us that an accurate translation would be “cracked pots.”
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9